Chapter 4Ecological Environment: An Integrate System of Four Spheres Chapter 4 Ecological EnvironmentContentContent 4.1 Biogeochemical Cycles4.1 Biogeochemical Cycles 4.2 Energy Flows4.2 Energy Flows 4.3 Environmental ecosystem4.3 Environmental ecosystem4.1 Biogeochemical cycles1.The four 1.The four spheresspheres (atmosphere, (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere) are composed of biosphere) are composed of matter in the gaseous, liquid, or matter in the gaseous, liquid, or solid states.solid states. 2 2.Energy.Energy is what makes matter is what makes matter movemove4.1.1 Concept4.1.1 Concept4.1.2 Biogeochemical CyclesThese cycles of chemical elements through the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere are called biogeochemical cycles CH2O + O2 CO2 + H2O +energy Withdrawal of carbonWithdrawal of carbonCO2 + H2O +energy CH2O + O2Addition of carbon 4.2 Energy FlowsEnergy can not be created or destroyed, but can be transformed When energy is transformed from one kind to another, it is degraded, meaning that the energy becomes less capable of doing workThe two law of thermodynamics4.2 Energy FlowsEntropy refers to the amount of low-quality energy in a system4.3 Environmental ecosystemGlobal environment in terms of three system traits: openness, integration, and complexity. Openness refers to whether a system is isolated from other systems Integration refers to the strength of the interactions among the parts of the system. Complexity is often defined as how many kinds of parts a system has .